Sydney Field Trips!

Just like in every other city we’ve been to so far, in Sydney our Biology class went on two field trips: one to Long Reef and one to the Blue Mountains.

            While we were at long reef, we were collecting data to see what types of animals lived in different parts of the tidal zone. However, after we were done with the actual work, we got to look around at the critters in everyone else’s’ data areas and take lots of pictures! Here are a few of my favorites:

            The Blue Mountains are said to be “Australia’s Grand Canyon”. When we were first entering the area, the land looked like ocean waves during a rough storm had been frozen in time, turned into land, and grew trees. They were huge and dipped and dove as far as the eye could see. What’s also cool about this area is that the world’s oldest genetic tree (as in every tree alive in the world today descended from this one) was found here in the Blue Mountains. It was thought to be extinct, but a very small population survived for hundreds of years after it was thought to be extinct, and now there is a population of about 100 of them in rebounding in the wild.

            One of the biggest features in the Blue Mountains is the rock formation called “The Three Sisters”. There are many legends that accompany the name, one of which our very talkative bus driver told us during the two hour drive. Our hike took us right down the side of one of the “sisters”, which is where we had a picture of our hiking group taken.

            The most daunting parts of the hike were the “Great Stairway” that led us a good way down the mountain and then the Furbur Steps that led us all the way back up. Throughout the day, I believe I climbed about 2000 stairs. Needless to say, I’ll be taking as many elevators as possible for a while.

            The highlight of the hike was being able to see Katoomba Falls- a 250m tall waterfall that cascades down the side of a mountain. It’s broken up into a series of small waterfalls ending on sets of boulders. When you can actually see where the waterfall begins and not be able to see the bottom because it’s blocked by foliage and giant rocks, its easy to be in awe.

            Now I’m not going to go out hiking every weekend or anything, but this study abroad program has definitely sparked my interest in going on more hikes. I’m finding that I’m enjoying them more and more, especially when I go with a fun group of people. It’s something I’m going to try to keep up with when I visit places that have nice trails.

            On a side note, I officially made it through Australia without getting leeched!

Sydney Aquarium and the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb

I have been wanting to see Sydney since I saw that little girl seemingly fly across the stadium in the opening ceremony of the Olympic games back in 2000. Television is also responsible for my want to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge since I saw the cast do it on The Real World: Sydney when I was 14. My first day in Sydney would encompass these two long-awaited adventures.

            Our first full day in Sydney, we walked down to Darling Harbor to see the aquarium and just enjoy the area. The Sydney Aquarium is very different from any I have been to before. Many of the larger tanks are built into the harbor, using the natural water the animals would be experiencing if they were out in the wild. My absolute favorite thing I saw were the little penguins (seriously- they’re mini penguins) that apparently nest off of Manly beach. They were so cute! I also saw things like giant (~3 foot long) lobsters. Those were not so cute…

            After the aquarium and some Thai food for lunch, Brittany and I made our way down to the bridge for our bridge climb! The entire activity takes about 3.5 hours, but the first hour is signing forms, getting all of the gear on, and getting briefed on safety. Part of the reason why the prep takes so long is that you have to wear a special suit that everything can be attached to. I mean EVERYTHING. The free bridge climb hat I got has a place for a clip because if I had worn it on the climb, it would have had to be strapped on. The bridge has constant car and train traffic, so falling objects are simply not an option.

            The climb itself started by us clipping our harnesses onto a cable that we would only be clipped off of when we returned to that same spot. As my group was about to depart, an eighty-year-old woman passed us after finishing her climb saying, “if I can do it, you can do it!” Needless to say, the bridge climb isn’t particularly hard. The very beginning as a few sets of stairs followed by four ladders that get you to the top arch, but from then on out there are stairs that take you up the gentle slope of the bridge. The group also stops often for long periods of time to take pictures and let everyone see the city.

            We paid the extra money to do the climb at sunset. If you ever do the bridge climb, you’ll already be spending a pretty penny to do it, so you might as well pay the extra money to get the incredible dusk or dawn views. Our tour guide told us so many random facts about Sydney and the bridge that I’ll probably be reciting them for years. For instance, 7 years after the bridge was completed, the government was asking the architect how to blow it up so that it would fall directly into the harbor and block the entrance in the event of an attack on Sydney during World War II.

            The view was incredible. I got to watch the city transform from a quiet, sunny, Sunday afternoon into the twinkling city it is at night. It was absolutely beautiful. It’s also pretty cool to say I’ve walked the same stairs as Oprah Winfrey.  

Heron Island

            I think we all thought that Heron Island would be this perfect little paradise that we get to on a nice boat ride out through the Great Barrier Reef. While the island itself was wonderful, the boat ride was slightly hellish. A relatively small boat + big waves + lots of side-to-side motion = seasickness. I didn’t get sick, but quite a few other people did.

            Heron Island is tiny- only about 800 meters long and 300 meters wide. The civilization on the island is just comprised of a resort and a research station. We stayed in the student accommodations at the research station. All of our meals were cooked by a woman named Maggie, a “true Australian personality” who wasn’t afraid to rag on you for wasting any food. We had our regular three meals a day, plus two “tea times”. There was basically an eating time between each class, which were all 20 minutes shorter on the island than they were on the mainland. One thing that really threw me off was that the resort was on New South Wales time and the research station was on Queensland time. Since Queensland doesn’t follow daylight savings time, the different parts of the island were on an hour time difference.

            Since I’m not SCUBA certified, I did a lot of snorkeling. My very first day snorkeling in the harbor near the old shipwreck on the channel’s edge, I saw my first sea turtle. It was a meter or two down and to the right of me, but I could definitely see it pretty clearly. The next time I snorkeled in the harbour, I came across a HUGE school of fish- probably a thousand fish that were each around 4 inches long. As I was watching the school, one of my friends tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at a shark swimming near the school. I had never been that close to a shark in the water before, let alone trying to swim near one. The sharks really don’t bother people here, though. Apparently the only shark attack that has ever happened on Heron Island was when a tourist tried to save a baby sea turtle from being eaten by a shark. Lesson learned: don’t interfere with nature.

Most of the time when I snorkeled, I saw a variety of colorful coral and fish. I always knew that there were an unthinkable number of fish species, but I never expected to see so many kinds in one little lagoon. I probably saw hundreds of species without even realizing it. They ranged from a half an inch long to 2 feet long, with some outliers here and there.

            The best snorkeling day I had was actually the last time I snorkeled on the island. I went out into the lagoon with a group of friends to see the stingrays, which I hadn’t seen yet because I hadn’t snorkeled on the north side of the island. When we went out that afternoon, there were dozens on them. The water in this area is only about 3-4 deep, but it is a hot area of stingrays and sharks because there isn’t much coral in this area. I will never forget swimming near two stingrays, which were both about 4 feet long, and then trying to swim away behind them and realizing that I was basically surrounded by 6 of them. I had a slight moment of panic but found a way out without getting too close to any of them. Since the current was really strong that day, we drifted over to the area in front of the resort, which is known to be the best area for snorkeling in terms of lots of coral and cool fish. My favorite fish that I saw were these huge parrot fishes- they were around a foot long (maybe a bit longer), rainbow colored, and the blue and purple parts of them appeared to be glowing. They were unlike anything I had ever seen and were beautiful fish. I also saw another sea turtle that day. It was less than 4 feet from me, just drifting along minding it’s own business. I decided to follow it slowly so that I wouldn’t forget what it looked like. I never realized that sea turtles had patchy looking skin- a lighter brown color with distinct darker brown lines that made the skin look like it was made of giant scales. The turtle itself was about 3 feet long. After I had been following it for 15 seconds or so, another turtle swam past! Then I had the dilemma that you can only have on Heron Island – “which turtle should I follow?” I continued following my original turtle until I started getting pretty far off shore, and figured I should go ahead and start swimming back since I would be fighting one of the strongest currents we’d had all week.

            The only two things I was disappointed about on Heron Island were that 1) I didn’t get to see a sea turtle hatchling (although a few people in our program saved one after it was dropped by a bird in the middle of the research station late at night) and 2) I didn’t get to go out on a snorkel boat trip because the currents and wind were too strong. The not-seeing-a-hatchling was especially sad not because were we the first Pacific Program group to not really get to see them (even though that’s true), but because apparently this year had the least sea turtle nests on the island since 1960. That’s a scary thought when you know that these endangered sea turtles always come back to the same island. If there has been a sudden drop off in nests, it could mean a sudden drop off in the adult population. Who knows if another Pacific Program group will get to see them now?

            Heron Island was a wonderful way to spend spring break. Very few people will ever experience the island, because it’s so remote and in the southern hemisphere (and because it costs around $400/night to stay at the resort), but even less will get to experience it the way we did. There was one night where a graduate student came in and talked to us about her research of shearwater birds that nest on the island before bringing in a baby bird for us to see (they are SO CUTE! Like a little ball of lint with a beak). She also let us walk around the island with her and see how she pulls them out of their nests to weigh them. I got to hold one of the babies and feel what it’s like to be bit by a particularly feisty one. I doubt the resort guests really get to have those educational experiences.

            The boat ride back to Gladstone was a little sad- watching our little island disappear behind us. We were all quickly distracted once again by seasickness and easily the most turbulent boat ride I have ever experienced. Was the island worth the boat ride? Absolutely. However if I ever go back, I will be taking advantage of the resort helipad.

Australia Zoo

When I think of Australia, I think of kangaroos, desert, and Steve Irwin. I have petted kangaroos, so that one is correct. It’s pretty much rained every day we’ve been in Brisbane so the desert part is definitely not true for all of Australia. Even though Steve Irwin isn’t here anymore, we do still have his zoo! I got to spend 8 hours there… in the rain… which didn’t stop… for 8 hours…

But in all seriousness, it was still pretty cool. We were able to hand feed some of the elephants! Since they were so muddy, the one I fed got mud on my white shorts which are now stained, but at least now if anyone ever points out that stain I get to blame it on an elephant. The Bengal tiger exhibit had a bunch of transparent walls, so we could see them extremely well. We got to pet the koalas again (didn’t hold them this time, even though apparently you could do that here too). We didn’t spend much time playing with the kangaroos this time because they looked incredibly unhappy in the rain. Like… miserable. I actually felt kind of bad for them, but I guess that’s the life of a non-domesticated animal. We also got to see wombats, which are one of the most ridiculous creatures I’ve ever seen. They’re like a cross between a pig, a gerbil, and I don’t even know what else. You just need to know that they’re goofy.

My absolute, hands-down favorite part of the day was the otter feeding. First of all, otters have been one of my favorite animals since I was in second grade and had to make a flip-book about an animal and I picked sea otters. To see them up close being adorable and complete trouble makers was even better. As the trainer was waiting to feed them, they kept making this weird squeaky/squakking noise (any other animal would have been doing some kind of grown, but these otters could really only squeak). They also kept trying to grab her feet as they were getting impatient. We got to watch them feast on crawfish and some smaller regular fish, and I don’t know how to describe it except by saying the 8 year old in me was just so happy. Otters just make you smile.

While it wasn’t my favorite part of the day, I did make sure I saw the “Wildlife Warriors” show that Steve Irwin created. This is the one where they bring out a crocodile and show you what not to do if one lives in your backyard. All of the pictures of him holding something up and the crocodile snapping its jaw as he jumps back were probably from shows like this. It was really cool and actually really informative, but the otters just stole my heart.

Outback Road Trip

A small group of us really wanted to try to see the outback while we were in Australia, so our first free Saturday in Brisbane we rented a van, piled in, and just drove west.

The first thing we came across was what I believe was a truck parade. For about a half an hour, the entire left lane of the highway was full of semi-trucks. There were also people lined up on the side of the road eating food and drinking beer in lawn chairs, waving at the drivers who in turn would honk back to see the people cheer. It was the most redneck event I’ve ever accidentally participated in. It definitely slowed down the beginning of our drive, but it was good for a laugh.

You will never see a road as straight as you can in the outback. It goes straight so far that you can see multiple road crests in the distance. It wasn’t the most exciting activity we’ve ever done, but it was really cool to see things like the trees getting progressively smaller the further west we got. All the exposed dirt began to look red. Even though we didn’t make it out to the part of the outback most people think of (red desert with a random old wooden building in the background), I’m really glad we did it.

Once we turned around, we found a nice open field to test out our boomerangs. Most of us were able to at least get them to go in a circle, but none of us were able to really catch them (although the guy we bought them from said “if you throw it and catch it on your first try, it’s a fluke”, so it wasn’t surprising).

We were able to catch a beautiful outback sunset. The sky was lit up with almost every color of the rainbow. I would say it was a great way to end the day, but I think I still had 4 more hours of the 11 hours I drove that day left to go. Luckily, at least part of the drive I was entertained by the rest of the car making a “Call me maybe” parody that I’ll probably link on here once we have a strong enough internet connection to put it on YouTube.

Exploring Brisbane

Once we finally got our showers after our visit to Lone Pine, we decided to head out into the city and explore. The receptionist at our hostel suggested we explore an area called “South Bank”, which was a really nice area built up next to the river.
 Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to be impressed by Brisbane, especially since I’m so excited to visit Sydney, but this night made Brisbane steal a bit of my heart. Walking over one of the bridges gave us a great view of 4 other lit up bridges that transverse the river. As we neared South Bank, we passed a huge Ferris wheel that was lit up purple, and just beyond that was a path with a bunch of shaped metal arms with plants growing up them. The path led to an area with 3 huge outdoor pools, one of which was “Streets Beach”, because they created a sloping pool with sand. All three pools overlooked the lit up city glowing in the night sky. The entire area is packed with restaurants and shops, as well as a market that is open Friday-Sunday. 

After grabbing dinner at a tacos place, we decided to ride the Ferris wheel. It cost $15, but it was easily twice as long of a ride as any other one I had ever been on and if I remember correctly was 60m tall. The view was beautiful and was such a nice way to finish a great first day in Brisbane.

Southbank really became our hang-out spot. A big group of us had dinner around one of the public grills one night before jumping into the Streets Beach pool. Megan and I took one of the free city boats down the river (it was basically a city bus on the water, but was a nice way to spend an hour or two because of the view). We went shopping at the market and bought cute tank tops and boomerangs (which really do work, by the way!). 

Later in the week, we took a trip to the Queensland Museum. Those of us in Biology 3100 had to go so that we could write entries about it in our field journals, but it definitely turned out to be more fun than work. There was a huge kids section about dinosaurs (which, naturally, us college students enjoyed A LOT), a gift shop with really cool toys, exhibits about sea turtles and other animals and structures found around the city, an entire section devoted to taxidermy animals and things like birds nests, and a special exhibit about an Australian designer.

After the museum, we decided that hitting up Max Brenner (a chocolate cafe in South Bank) would be an excellent choice for a snack. I wound up getting ice cream, but everything I saw looked delicious. I really wish I had gone again before leaving Brisbane so that I could have tried something else.

Updates coming!

Hey everyone!

The internet here in Sydney is a bit temperamental and isn't letting me add pictures with blog posts, so I'll be adding some Brisbane, Heron Island, and eventually Sydney posts ASAP. I want them posted right the first time, even if they're a bit late :).